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South African Class H 4-10-2T
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Between 1899 and 1903 the Natal Government Railways
Natal government railways
The Natal Government Railways was formed in January 1877 in the Colony of Natal.In 1877 the Natal Government Railways acquired the Natal Railway Company for the sum of £40,000, gaining the line from the Point to Durban and from Durban to Umgeni...

 placed one hundred and one tank steam locomotives with a 4-10-2T wheel arrangement in service. In 1912, with the establishment of the South African Railways, the ninety-three "Reid Tenwheelers" that survived unmodified were designated Class H.

Manufacturers

Increasing traffic on the new Natal Government Railways (NGR) main line to the interior with its sharp curves and severe 1 in 30 gradients, which was approaching Glencoe at the time, led to the requirement for a tank locomotive that could haul at least one and a half times as much as a Dübs A 4-8-2T
South African Class A 4-8-2T
In 1888 the Natal Government Railways placed the first five of its eventual one hundred Class Dübs A 4-8-2T tank steam locomotives in service. The last of the one hundred was delivered in 1899. In 1912, when these locomotives were assimilated into the South African Railways, they were renumbered...

 locomotive. This resulted in the design of a 4-10-2T tank locomotive by G.W. Reid, Locomotive Superintendent of the NGR at the end of the nineteenth century.

Since there was no precedent for such an enormous Cape gauge
Cape gauge
Cape gauge is a track gauge of between the inside of the rail heads and is classified as narrow gauge. It has installations of around .The gauge was first used by Norwegian engineer Carl Abraham Pihl and the first line was opened in 1862.- Nomenclature :...

 tank locomotive, the design was the subject of some severe criticism and various objections were put forward against its introduction. It was therefore decided to order only one experimental locomotive from Dübs and Company
Dûbs and Company
Dübs & Co. was a locomotive works in Glasgow, Scotland, founded by Henry Dübs in 1863 and based at the Queens Park Works in Polmadie. In 1903 it became part of the North British Locomotive Company.-Preserved locomotives:...

. It was delivered in 1899 and numbered 149.

In 1900 the General Manager of the NGR reported that the trials of the locomotive had proven successful beyond anticipation. As a result, orders were placed for another one hundred locomotives between 1901 and 1903. The first ninety-five of these locomotives were built in four batches by Dübs and were numbered 150 to 244.

Since Dübs and a number of other Scottish locomotive builders were merged to form the North British Locomotive Company
North British Locomotive Company
The North British Locomotive Company was created in 1903 through the merger of three Glasgow locomotive manufacturing companies; Sharp Stewart and Company , Neilson, Reid and Company and Dübs and Company , creating the largest locomotive manufacturing company in Europe.Its main factories were...

 (NBL) while the locomotives were being built, the last five were delivered as having been built by the newly established NBL, numbered 245 to 249. On the NGR the locomotive type became known as the "Reid Tenwheeler".

Characteristics

In order to negotiate sharp curves, both the first and fifth sets of driving wheels were flangeless. The locomotives used saturated steam and were equipped with Allan straight link valve gear, which was chosen chiefly because it required less space than the more usual Stephenson lifting link gear and was simpler in construction. The trailing Bissel truck was of the Cartazzi type that allowed the axle some lateral movement.

The portion of the crankpins for the connecting rod big-ends was turned 1.5 inches (38.1 mm) eccentric to obtain the longest possible piston stroke that the wheel diameter would permit. The piston rods and crossheads were forged in one piece, so the connecting rod small-ends had to be forked.

Modifications

The main shortcoming of the Reid Tenwheeler was a tendency to derail while reversing, particularly over points, since the trailing drivers were flangeless. This was overcome by increasing the tyre width from 6 inches (152.4 mm) to 7 inches (177.8 mm), after which the locomotives proved successful in service.

When some were withdrawn from main line service and put in branch line and shunting service where smaller radius curves were encountered, they were modified to 4-8-2T locomotives by removing the fifth pair of coupled wheels. In South African Railways (SAR) service, these became the Class H2
South African Class H2 4-8-2T
Between 1899 and 1903 the Natal Government Railways placed one hundred and one 4-10-2T tank steam locomotives in service. By 1910 five of them had been converted to a 4-8-2T wheel arrangement and in 1912, with the establishment of the South African Railways, these five were designated Class...

.

Renumbering

In 1912, when the three colonial railways were amalgamated into the SAR, ninety-three as yet unmodified “Reid Tenwheelers” were renumbered and became the Class H. Three locomotives, NGR numbers 194, 195 and 214 that were scrapped prior to 1912, did not come under the renumbering scheme.

The Class H locomotives were subsequently gradually also modified to a 4-8-2T wheel arrangement. The first three of these, SAR numbers 240, 294 and 305, were renumbered again to 329, 330 and 331 respectively, but the rest retained their Class H numbers after modification. Their builders, works numbers and renumbering are set out in the table.

Service

The Reid Tenwheeler was employed on the lower section of the Natal main line. Most of them continued to work there even after more powerful locomotives were placed in service. In the SAR era some were relocated to De Doorns
De Doorns
De Doorns, Western Cape is a settlement in Cape Winelands District Municipality in the Western Cape province of South Africa....

 in the Cape Province
Cape Province
The Province of the Cape of Good Hope was a province in the Union of South Africa and subsequently the Republic of South Africa...

 for banking service up the Hex River Pass
Hex River Pass
Hex River Pass, Is situated in the Western Cape, province of South Africa, on the National road N1 road between De Doorns and Touws River.-Be Aware:* Driving Skill level: Novice* Road Condition: Tarred surface, sweeping turns...

. They had a long service life and some, modified to 4-8-2T, remained in service until 1977.

Imperial Military Railways

In 1902, during the Second Freedom War
Second Boer War
The Second Boer War was fought from 11 October 1899 until 31 May 1902 between the British Empire and the Afrikaans-speaking Dutch settlers of two independent Boer republics, the South African Republic and the Orange Free State...

, the Imperial Military Railways (IMR) placed orders for altogether thirty-five locomotives of the Reid Tenwheeler type with Dübs and Company and Neilson, Reid and Company
Neilson and Company
Neilson and Company was a locomotive manufacturer in Glasgow, Scotland.The company was started in 1836 at McAlpine Street by Walter Neilson and James Mitchell to manufacture marine and stationary engines...

. In SAR service, these became the Class H1
South African Class H1 4-8-2T
In 1902, towards the end of the Second Freedom War, the Imperial Military Railways placed thirty-five 4-10-2T tank locomotives in service, built to the specifications of the "Reid tenwheeler" of the Natal Government Railways. At the end of the war, these locomotives were transferred to the Central...

.

Industry

A final order for one new locomotive was placed by Witbank
Witbank
Witbank , also known as eMalahleni is a city situated on the Highveld of Mpumalanga, South Africa, within the eMalahleni Local Municipality. The name Witbank is Afrikaans for White Ridge and is named after a white sandstone outcrop where wagon transport drivers rested...

 Collieries as late as 1927. The total of one hundred and thirty-seven locomotives that were built to this design, was about double the number of all other 4-10-2 locomotives in use elsewhere in the world, all of which were tender locomotives serving mainly in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 and Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

.

See also

  • South African Class H1 4-8-2T
    South African Class H1 4-8-2T
    In 1902, towards the end of the Second Freedom War, the Imperial Military Railways placed thirty-five 4-10-2T tank locomotives in service, built to the specifications of the "Reid tenwheeler" of the Natal Government Railways. At the end of the war, these locomotives were transferred to the Central...

  • South African Class H2 4-8-2T
    South African Class H2 4-8-2T
    Between 1899 and 1903 the Natal Government Railways placed one hundred and one 4-10-2T tank steam locomotives in service. By 1910 five of them had been converted to a 4-8-2T wheel arrangement and in 1912, with the establishment of the South African Railways, these five were designated Class...

  • The 4-10-2 "Reid Tenwheeler"
    4-10-2
    Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 4-10-2 represents the wheel arrangement of four leading wheels on two axles , ten powered and coupled driving wheels on five axles, and two trailing wheels on one axle...

  • List of South African locomotive classes
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